Happy Cries Over a Novel
by Recognition2
Summary: Happy was a man. He was a manly man. And because he was the manliest man of a cat ever, he would never admit that he sometimes maybe sweated through his eyes.


_**Originally written: 7/26/14**_

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Happy was a man. Well, metaphorically. He was obviously a cat, specifically an Exceed, but he had the heart of a man. In fact, he was so manly that if he were an actual man he would put Elfman to shame. And because he was such a manly man of a cat, he would never admit that he sometimes maybe sweated through his eyes.

Of course, sweat was the epitome of manliness. It was the equivalent of glitter for women. But there was just a different standard for eye sweat, one in which it was more or less prohibited under regular circumstances. Regular circumstances like the beauty of nature, or soap operas, or even fictional deaths in supposedly amateur novels. Natsu had gotten it down pat. And if Natsu could be so manly, then so could Happy.

But alas, there comes a time when every man's manhood is challenged by the likes of a woman. And while it hadn't exactly been Lucy's intention to throw him into such a battle, she had contributed quite a bit to what had.

Natsu had only ever lost to one woman - Lucy. And Lucy's victory had by far been his most embarrassing loss. Of course, Natsu had sweated in many other situations before he had sweated over Lucy temporarily leaving the Guild, but they weren't exactly everyday situations. Childhood friends like Lisanna didn't always get sucked away into alternate realities, nor did Erza usually sacrifice (or rather, attempt to sacrifice) herself for the common good. These were very valid reasons for eye sweat to occur.

Thus, Happy came to the conclusion that if his friend had lost to Lucy, then it was slightly more acceptable for him to lose to her as well. What could he say? She just knew how to make men's pupils perspire for petty reasons.

Well, in Natsu's case, unintentional abandonment was not a petty reason. But the rules still applied, because it justified Happy's actions and because he said so.

And so, as the poor Exceed sat on Lucy's desk, clutching desperately to the latest chapter of her story, he decided that sweat was sweat and that only true men could sweat through their eyes. Especially at beautiful things like nature, or soap operas, or fictional deaths in supposedly amateur novels.

However, sweating in a woman's arms was an entirely different situation in and of itself, one which Happy, the poster man of total manhood, was uncharacteristically unsure about. It was perfectly acceptable for a woman to cry (yes, cry, because no man ever cried) in a man's arms, as long as he hadn't been the one to inflict her sorrow - otherwise, this was an extreme breach of guy code and warranted a very solid blow to the offender's unmentionables. But the question still stood as to whether it was acceptable for a man to cry in a woman's arms, even if the reason was satisfactory or not.

Happy decided that equality was in order, and it was therefore okay for the aforementioned situation to occur. Besides, it didn't exactly count if she had been the one to gather him in her arms, even if he reciprocated wholeheartedly.

So Happy held on to Lucy as if life itself depended on her and sobbed about John the Exterminator's defeat to cancer. Not the crab, but the illness. And since Lucy was a real woman, she did not mention his eye sweat or tease him about it. He decided that he'd lay off his own jabs at her for a while.

He remained the manliest man of a cat ever.

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**I love Fairy Tail so much :') It is just so perfect. And as for the one time Natsu cried over Lucy... I can't name a specific episode, but it was that one time Lucy went back home to her father and went all sassy rebellious daughter mode. And then Team Natsu came running for her when she came out and Happy said a certain Fire Dragon Slayer cried over her leaving.**

**The moral of the story is that you'll still be manly even if you cry. As long as all witnesses never mention it again. :)**


End file.
